Love of a Lifetime
by sereneione
Summary: For a moment, he stood where he was standing, unmoving, his blue eyes locked with another pair of equally blue eyes, however cold it may be. Chapter 3 up!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Preeeeeeeeeeeet! (Note: Sound of the whistle being blown)

"Alright, everybody gather around!" said Uozumi Jun loudly, his booming voice echoing around the gym.

As soon as all the members of the basketball team were gathered together, Taoka-sensei stepped forward to address them.

"Good job, minna. Now remember, tomorrow's practice will be at the same time," said Taoka-sensei. "Make sure that all of you are here, and _on time._" He glanced at the star player of his team pointedly.

Sendoh Akira merely gave his team-coach a pleasant smile.

"Alright. You are dismissed."

Everyone began to shuffle out of the gym, all of them relieved that training was over for the day.

"Hey Sendoh!" Koshino Hiroaki called to his team-mate-cum-classmate.

Sendoh turned around to face him. "Yeah?"

"Are you going to the train station? If you are, then why don't we walk together?"

Sendoh shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Together, the two sophomores of Ryonan High School walked out of the gym, not knowing that they were being watched from the shadows by two shadowy figures.

"Is he the one?"

"Yes, he's the one our Lord has been looking for."

"What do we do now?"

"I'll keep track of him, while you go back and report this to the Lord."

"Yes."

Both figures retreated deeper into the shadows, until all that was left was… shadows. No one, not even a tiny speck of bacteria, would have noticed their presence.

After all, they weren't called the Shaduins, the second-in-command of Logendar, for nothing.

Tbc...


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The Seraph Special Intelligence Building, Sheiramoth City…

Alaric Rald looked up when Elvira Neiva walked into his office.

"You asked for me, sir?" the girl asked, as she stood before him.

"Yes. Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk.

After she was seated, Alaric clasped his hands together and leaned forward. He regarded the girl in front of him for a moment, before reaching into his drawer and took out a yellow file, which he handed to Elvira. "This is your new assignment."

Elvira took the file and turned to the first page, where a picture of teenage boy was attached.

"You know what to do."

Elvira closed the file and looked up. "I'll take care of it right away."

Alaric nodded his head. "Good. I've already informed Vipponah about your assignment. He'll be providing you with everything you need. New identity, credentials… you know the usual stuff."

"Yes, I know." Elvira stood up and turned to leave.

"Elvira."

Elvira looked at Alaric.

"Be careful, will you?"

Elvira gave the Head of the Seraph Department a grateful smile. "I will." With that, she opened the door and left the room.

-

In another part of the building…

Elvira knocked on the door, before calling out, "Vip, it's me, El. Can I come in?"

When nobody answered her call, she knocked again. "Vip, are you in there?"

After waiting for one whole minute, she turned the knob and pushed open the door, stepping into the room cautiously.

"Vip? Vip, where are you?" she called out.

"I'm here," came a voice from behind of her.

Elvira turned around to find herself looking at… nothing. She narrowed her eyes. "Vipponah Isidro, this is not funny. I'm here on business, so let's get down to it, alright?"

There was a sigh. "Alright. Stand back a little will you?"

Elvira took a step back, and the air particles of the empty space in front of her started swirling and twirling, slowly coming together until an outline of a figure could be seen. Then, it began to take on colour after colour, until finally, a man in his early twenties materialized himself before her.

"Geez! You're as serious as ever, El," he grumbled good-naturedly. "Anyway, I've been expecting you. Come with me please."

He led Elvira across the room, which was filled with rows and rows of shelves, each of them reaching the ceiling and filled to the brim with documents of all sorts, until they came to a stop in front of his desk. He rummaged through the huge pile of papers on the table, obviously finding for the one which belonged to Elvira.

"You're hopeless, Vip," said Elvira.

"No, I'm not. Watch," Vipponah replied defiantly. He snapped his fingers, and immediately, the pile of papers flew up in the air, rearranging themselves accordingly, before falling back down onto the table in one neat stack.

Vipponah snapped his fingers again, and a single sheet shot out from the middle of the pile into his waiting hands. He handed the paper to Elvira with a flourish. "Ta-da!"

"Bravo," said Elvira, her face expressionless. She carefully went through the contents of the paper, while Vipponah busied himself with the other paperwork on his desk.

"Hold on a second. What is _this_?" Elvira asked in an incredulous tone, as she pointed to a particular section in the paper.

"You can read, right? It's exactly what it says," said Vipponah nonchalantly.

Elvira eyed the other person disbelievingly. "This is ridiculous. I never had to do this in the past. Why do I have to do it now?"

Vipponah smiled sweetly, so sweet that even the bees and butterflies would drop dead from too much of it. "Well, I thought that it would be fun to do things differently once in a while. Besides, you can't let your shape-shifting and gender-bending abilities go to waste you know. It's a sin."

"Right…" said Elvira, totally unconvinced. "Is there something about this guy that I should know and you're not telling me about?"

"No, nothing," Vipponah answered innocently.

"Are you sure? You can't hide anything from me, Vip. I'm your cousin after all, and we grew up together literally."

"Well, even if there is something you should know and I didn't tell you about, I'm sure you'll be able to handle things just fine. I mean, you're a Seraph, for crying out loud. Plus, the blood of an Aphrodonis runs through your veins. You're a cut above everyone else." Vipponah fluttered his eyelashes at her, and Elvira shook her head.

"You know Vip, sometimes I think you should just change into a girl and stay as one."

"Oh, I can change into a girl alright. That's what an Aphrodonis does, after all." As he was saying this, his short blond hair began to grow until they reached his waist, his skin became smoother and softer and fairer, his chest grew bigger and his figure grew slimmer until he could very well pass himself off as a lingerie model.

"I look good," he said, admiring himself in the mirror which suddenly appeared in front of him out of nowhere. His voice had already changed into a high-pitched woman's one.

Elvira rolled her eyes. "Oh, please."

"However, I think I prefer to stay as a guy," said Vipponah, not paying attention to Elvira. In a blink of an eye, he changed back into his male self. Then, he turned to Elvira. "So?"

Elvira heaved a sigh. "Fine. Whatever. I'll do it."

Vipponah's face broke into a big smile, and he patted Elvira on the shoulder. "That's my girl! Now, let's continue with the briefing, shall we?"

-

Ryonan, Kanagawa, Japan…

"Akira! Akira, wake up! You're going to be late for school."

Groggily, Sendoh Akira sat up on his bed. "Yes, okaasan. I'm up," he called back to his mother.

"Hurry up. Your cousin's waiting for you downstairs."

Sendoh's eyes widened in surprise. "Cousin? What cousin?" he asked, but Mrs Sendoh had already gone downstairs and didn't answer him.

Curious and eager to know what was going on, Sendoh quickly got himself ready, jumped down the stairs 2 steps at a time and bounded into the living room, where he saw his father talking to someone he didn't recognise.

"Akira, you're finally here," Mr Sendoh exclaimed. "Come and meet your cousin."

Sendoh appeared not to have heard his father, as he was too busy staring at said cousin. He slowly took in the longish black hair, the icy blue eyes behind the pair of glasses, and the very, very pale complexion of the other boy. He was shorter than Sendoh himself, but tall nevertheless, and was dressed in a white collared long-sleeved shirt and white pants, with the shirt not tucked in and the top three buttons opened, revealing the pale smooth chest underneath.

_Kirei… _thought Sendoh, wondering if this was just a dream.

As if he could read Sendoh's mind, the boy raised an eyebrow, causing Sendoh to cough and clear his throat in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

"Ah… sumi masen. I guess I'm still not fully awake yet," said Sendoh, rubbing the back of his head and laughing embarrassedly.

"Don't mind my son, Yuki-kun. He's always like that," Mr Sendoh spoke up. "Anyway, Akira, this is your cousin, Yuki-kun. He's your grandmother's sister's daughter's son from Okinawa, and he's here to stay with us for the rest of the year. He'll be joining you in your school, probably in your class too."

Sendoh looked confused. "Um, can you repeat the first part, otousan? The part where you were saying he was whose and whose son?"

"He's your grandmother's sister's daughter's son. Your grandmother's sister's grandson. Your grandmother's grandnephew. Your grand- oh, never mind. Your mother and his mother are cousins, and that makes you and him cousins too. In a way."

Sendoh blinked, and then slowly nodded his head. "Um, ok."

Turning to his newfound relative, he held out his hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you. My name's Sendoh Akira, but you can just call me Akira."

The boy smiled back at him, and Sendoh thought he was going to faint from ecstasy.

"Nice to meet you too, Akira. I'm Tenchi Shiroyuki, but you can just call me Yuki."

Tbc...


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sendoh stifled a yawn as he listened to the monotonic droning of the teacher standing at the front of the class. Out of the corner of his eye, he sneaked a peek at Shiroyuki, who was sitting at the table on his right.

_Maa, at least I get to look at him. God, he's too beautiful for his own good. _

When Shiroyuki glanced at him, he gave him a big smile.

-

Shiroyuki returned Sendoh's smile with a small one of his own, albeit a little forcefully.

_One look at the smile on his face, and you don't have to be a psychic to know what he's thinking about._

He turned his attention back to the teacher, clasping his hands together and cracking the knuckles a little.

_I feel like beating the crap out of someone. I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to do so anytime soon._

Just then, the teacher turned around to write something on the board.

_Oh no… don't turn your back on us sensei! If you do-_

A few pieces of neatly folded paper suddenly landed on his table, and Shiroyuki resisted the urge to groan out loud.

_Here we go again… _

After making sure that the teacher wasn't looking, he picked up one of the papers and unfolded it. The note read:

_Dear Shiroyuki-kun, _

_I brought you a bento from home. It's not much, but I hope that you will like it. I'll give it to you during the lunch break, so please wait for me._

_Yours sincerely, Momo-chan. _

Shiroyuki picked up another note. This one read:

_Dear Shiroyuki-kun, _

_I know you like sushi, so I've brought you some today. I made them myself, and I hope that you will like it. I'll give it to you during lunch break, so please wait for me. _

_Yours sincerely, Hanako-chan._

The rest of the notes contained more or less the same message, and by the time he had finished reading all of them, he had calculated at least 8 different kinds of food waiting to be eaten during lunch break.

_Akira is going to be so happy, _Shiroyuki thought wryly.

And rightly so. From the moment he first stepped foot in the school, Shiroyuki had been dubbed as the next best thing to arrive in Ryonan after Sendoh Akira. Exactly one day later, Sendoh was disregarded completely and tossed aside as the thing of the past.

Sendoh didn't mind. Not one bit. At least, not when he kept getting free food for lunch courtesy of his long-lost-and-then-found cousin. Everyday, during lunch break, bentos will be stacked on Shiroyuki's table, and Sendoh would help himself to the variety of food available.

Shiroyuki was only too happy to let him, as he couldn't possibly have finished everything by himself. More than once, he had to give out the bentos to his classmates so that the food wouldn't go to waste. Still, there were times when he had to throw some away. He could only pray that Kami-sama wouldn't punish him for all the wastage.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

The bell for lunch break rang, and the teacher gathered his things before exiting the room. The students stood up to greet him, and then, half of them, mostly girls, walked to the back of the class, each of them with a nicely-wrapped bento in their hands.

"Hey, Yuki-kun, don't forget to leave some for me," Sendoh jokingly said. This time, instead of a smile, he earned himself a glare from Shiroyuki.

"It's not funny, Akira," said Shiroyuki, as he braced himself for the onslaught of girls and bentos to reach him.

Sendoh laughed. "Don't worry, Yuki-kun. You can always count on me to help you finish all the food."

The scowl on Shiroyuki's face grew deeper, but he quickly put on a neutral expression on his face when the first girl reached his table.

_Say cheese, Shiroyuki. _

_-_

After school…

"I'm off to practice now. You want to come and watch?" asked Sendoh, as he stuffed everything into his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Yeah. I'll be watching from the audience stand," Shiroyuki replied.

"That's fine with me. Although I must say that it would be nice if you'd join the team. We can always practise together on the weekends, whenever there's no practice," said Sendoh, looking at Shiroyuki hopefully.

"I don't think so, Akira. I mean, for one thing, I don't like playing basketball. For another…" Shiroyuki trailed off.

"For another?" Sendoh prompted.

Shiroyuki shook his head. "Nothing. I just don't have any interest in the sport, that's all." Like Sendoh, he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Are we going to the gym or not?"

"Ah, hai." A little disappointed that his persuasion didn't work, Sendoh lead the way to the gym, while Shiroyuki followed him from behind.

Suddenly, Sendoh turned around and faced Shiroyuki again.

"If you won't join the team as a player, then how about as a manager?" he asked excitedly.

Shiroyuki raised her eyebrows. "Manager? Of what?"

"Of the team, silly. If you become the manager, then you can follow us everywhere. Practice games, tournaments, vacations… It'll be fun. What do you think?"

Shiroyuki considered his words carefully, deep in thought.

"So?" Sendoh prompted Shiroyuki out of his thoughts.

"You make it sound so easy. What about Taoka-sensei? What about that cute little short guy Hikoichi?" Shiroyuki pointed out the problems.

Sendoh blinked at the question. "What about Hikoichi?"

"Isn't he the manager of the team? I mean, I keep seeing him with that trusty notebook of his. Not to mention he's always shouting "Unbelievable!" whenever he sees what he deems as one of your spectacular performances on the court."

"Hikoichi's not the manager. He's a member, a player of the team. It's just that he likes to jot down things, mainly about basketball, into his notebook, that's all," said Sendoh, waving his hand dismissively.

"Ok. But then you still need to persuade Taoka-sensei. I don't think he'll think it's a good idea."

"Daijoubu. Leave everything to me. You just have to tell me whether or not you'll take the position."

Shiroyuki looked at Sendoh, who looked back at him, his eyes all shiny and hopeful. Curving his own lips into a smile, Shiroyuki nodded his head and said, "I'm in."

"Yosh! Let's go then," Sendoh said enthusiastically. Not wanting to waste precious time, he practically dragged Shiroyuki all the way to the gym, while the latter shouted at him to stop, to no avail.

-

"What!"

"Think about it, sensei," said Sendoh in his best I-Have-An-Idea-So-Good-You-Are-Going-To-Agree-With-Me voice. "With a manager around, you won't have to worry about a lot of things anymore. Yuki-kun will handle all the management of the team, from the bookings of the train tickets to the-"

"Wait just a second, Sendoh-san! What about me?" Aida Hikoichi interrupted, much to Sendoh's annoyance.

"Hikoichi, you're a member of the team. Not the manager. You participate in the practices. A manager doesn't."

"B-But…"

"No buts, Hikoichi. Now run along and practise with the others, will you? I need to convince Taoka-sensei here," said Sendoh. He practically pushed the poor boy onto the court, before going back to the waiting and tapping-his-foot-impatiently coach.

"Taoka-sensei," he began, but was cut off by Taoka-sensei.

"Sendoh, this is the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard in all my years of coaching. Our team does not need a manager. It didn't have a manager before this, it doesn't need one now, and it won't need one in the future. That is all, Sendoh. Now go back to practice."

"Please sensei. I'm asking you, no, I'm begging you to reconsider. Yuki-kun will most definitely do his best for the team. I can assure you, he'll be the best manager you'll ever see in the history of basketball," Sendoh pleaded.

When that didn't work, Sendoh decided to go for the kill. "I'll do anything, sensei. Yuki-kun will do anything."

Shiroyuki, who had been standing aside and watching in silence, raised an eyebrow at this.

Taoka-sensei cast a look at Shiroyuki, while Shiroyuki looked back at him nonchalantly. Then, Taoka-sensei looked at Sendoh, who was looking at him with the most imploring look he could muster.

"Alright. This boy here can become the manager of the team…"

"Yes! Thank you sensei!" Sendoh whooped in joy.

"If he can put in 3 consecutive three-pointers."

Sendoh stopped jumping around. "Eh?"

"I said, he can become the manager if he can put in 3 consecutive three-pointers," Taoka-sensei repeated, a smirk on his face.

"But sensei, Yuki-kun doesn't know how to play basketball," Sendoh protested.

"Which is why I don't think he's a suitable candidate to become a basketball team manager. A manager should know the basics of the game to be a good manager," said Taoka-sensei. The smirk on his face grew wider. _Taoka Moichi, you're a genius! _

"But-"

Any further arguments on Sendoh's part were broken off when he heard the sound of a ball being dribbled from the centre of the court. He turned to see Yuki standing just before the three-pointer line, dribbling a basketball with her right hand.

"Yuki-kun?"

Shiroyuki appeared not to have heard Sendoh calling him, but even if he did, he didn't show any signs indicating otherwise. He just continued dribbling the ball, catching the attention of every other people in the gym.

Then, without a slightest hint of hesitation, he brought the ball up in front of him, jumped and shot. Everyone watched as the ball flew through the air in a graceful arc, before landing in the basket with a swish.

Taoka-sensei's jaw fell open, as did the rest of the people in the gym. Sendoh managed to keep his intact, but he opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish.

Meanwhile, Shiroyuki retrieved the ball and returned to the same spot. Like before, he dribbled the ball a few times before jumping up and making his shot. And like before, the ball went into the basket without so much as touching the rim.

Taoka-sensei's jaw couldn't have dropped any lower than it already was.

Once again, Shiroyuki retrieved the ball, and as he got ready for the last shot, Sendoh recovered from his shock and cheered at the top of his lungs. "Yeah, Yuki-kun! Go for it!"

Coupled with Sendoh's cheers, it was impossible for the third and last shot not to make it to the basket and fall through the hoop. The corner of Shiroyuki's mouth lifted a little to reveal a tiny smile.

_Eat this, Taoka! _

Gradually, the silence that had filled the gym when Shiroyuki began to take his shots was replaced with quiet whisperings among the people present. Hikoichi began his "Unbelievable!" tirade, while Taoka-sensei still hadn't picked up his jaw from the ground.

"Well sensei, I guess this means that Yuki-kun is now officially the manager of the Ryonan basketball team, ne?" said Sendoh.

He didn't get an answer from the still-shocked Taoka-sensei, but he didn't need to. Looking at Shiroyuki, he gave him a thumbs-up, which the other boy responded with a smile and a wink.

_Oh Kami-sama! He just winked at me! And that smile… he's just too gorgeous for his own good. _

Instantly, the smile on Shiroyuki's face disappeared, and he slapped a hand on his forehead. _For goodness sake, is that all that he can think of!_

Sendoh was too busy swooning to notice anything.

Tbc...


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Where is that Sendoh!" Taoka-sensei burst out finally, unable to hold back his anger any longer. His head looked slightly enlarged, and his eyes looked as if they were spurting out fire.

Hikoichi cowered at the sight of his team-coach, but managed to answer, "Er, I think he'll be here any minute now. And Yuki-san, too."

"Who cares about that good-for-nothing self-appointed team manager? It's Sendoh I want, Sendoh! Now where is he!" Taoka-sensei continued ranting, not caring at the least that the Shohoku High School basketball team was present in the gym, preparing for their pre-arranged practice match with Ryonan.

"Well-" Hikoichi started, but broke off when the door to the gym suddenly opened. And who could be standing there other than Sendoh himself.

"I'm sorry I'm late guys," he began, but before he could continue, Taoka-sensei appeared before him and started screaming his head off at the sophomore.

"Where have you been, Sendoh! Why are you late?"

Sendoh gave the middle-aged man an apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry, sensei. I overslept."

Faced with Sendoh's obviously honest and straight answer, Taoka-sensei couldn't bring himself to scold the boy any further. Instead, he turned his attention to the person behind Sendoh.

"And you? Why are you late? As the team manager, you should be here before everyone else to make sure everything is in order," he demanded.

Shiroyuki looked at him nonchalantly. "I had to wait for Akira, sensei." _Alright, Taoka. You had better lay off before I lose my temper. _

"Why didn't you make sure he arrived on time then? I knew I shouldn't have listened to him and appoint you as the team manager. You're a total-"

All of a sudden, Taoka-sensei stopped his ranting, but for no apparent reason. Nobody had interrupted him; nobody would dare to do so. In fact, it seemed like Taoka-sensei had cut short himself. The others watched as he opened his mouth to continue, but nothing came out. Not a sound could be heard from him, not even a croak.

While Taoka-sensei opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish, Shiroyuki took one last look at him and walked away. Instantly, Taoka-sensei started coughing and spurting.

"Sensei, daijoubu ka?" Hikoichi asked, concerned.

Taoka-sensei just continued coughing.

Meanwhile, Shiroyuki was making his way towards Sendoh when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around, his attention focused on the Shohoku basketball team. For a moment, he stood where he was standing, unmoving, his blue eyes locked with another pair of equally blue eyes, however cold it may be.

"Yuki-kun?"

Shiroyuki tore his gaze away from the owner of the cold blue eyes and looked at Sendoh. "Akira?"

"What are you looking at?" asked Sendoh.

Shiroyuki shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Ok."

"You'd better get ready for the game. Taoka-sensei looked like he was going to swallow someone whole right about now," said Shiroyuki, jerking his head a little in the direction of the obviously fuming coach.

"Yeah. I'm ready." That said, he walked onto the court, only to be confronted by a slightly shorter but tough-looking guy with flaming red hair.

Shiroyuki's eyes widened at the sight of the redhead. _What the... ? _

He watched as the guy introduced himself to Sendoh as Sakuragi Hanamichi, before finishing off as arrogantly as one could possibly be by declaring that he was going to beat Sendoh. Sendoh, being Sendoh, merely smiled and replied casually that he would be looking forward to it, though Shiroyuki knew better.

Not only was the Ryonan Ace excited by the challenge, he was very, _very, _interested with the redhead himself.

And Shiroyuki knew that he wasn't the only one, who could see, or rather, read that.

-

Ryonan's timeout…

"What's wrong with you guys!" Taoka-sensei screamed at his players. "I told you to win by 30 points! You guys look so pathetic playing against Shohoku!"

"Hey, Hikoichi, hand me a bottle of drink will you?" said Sendoh to the first-year. Shiroyuki handed him a towel.

"You really disappoint me!" Taoka ranted on. "Do you guys want to win or not!"

Sendoh finished drinking from the bottle and passed it to Shiroyuki.

"This is the team that's going to be the champions this year! You guys are one of the top 4! Shohoku's nothing! Shohoku is a weak team that can't even get through the first round!"

Shiroyuki noticed something, but decided to keep quiet about it, since Taoka-sensei was too busy scolding the players anyway. He reached for a Tupperware he had brought from home and opened it to reveal many slices of lemon contained in it between ice cubes.

"Uozumi! You let Akagi get 17 points! You want to lose to him again this year!"

Sendoh gleefully reached for a slice, sucking on it with the delight of a 6-year-old.

"No! I will win for sure!" Uozumi shouted at the top of his lungs.

Sendoh was still sucking on the same slice of lemon, while Shiroyuki felt amused, not just because Sendoh was doing a perfect imitation of a 6-year-old.

"Listen up! You should be ashamed of yourselves to have let Shohoku get this many points back! Isn't it embarrassing to be beaten by a freshman! You guys have to gain a 30-point lead in the next round. Do you understand!"

Sendoh threw the slice of lemon aside and reached out to take another one.

"Sendoh! Did you hear me!" came Taoka-sensei's booming voice.

Sendoh was taken a little by surprised, but that didn't stop him from putting the slice of lemon into his mouth and sucking on it. In between, he said, "No, I don't think Shohoku's a weak team. Center Akagi can easily get the team to enter the quarterfinals. They're good."

Faster than you can say fast, Taoka-sensei charged up to Sendoh like a raging bulldozer, causing the second-year to drop his slice of lemon and stuck his fingers into his ears. "YOU FOOL! You're the star of the team! How can you say such a thing!"

Shiroyuki bit on his lip to prevent himself from laughing. Obviously, neither Taoka nor the players had noticed it yet.

"Listen up everyone! We're using the man-to-man strategy. Uozumi, you watch Akagi. Sendoh, you've got to stop Rukawa," Taoka-sensei instructed. "If we can stop Akagi and Rukawa, then Shohoku's offense will be weakened."

It was at that moment that Koshino and Ikegami finally noticed what Shiroyuki had noticed earlier and they hadn't, but should've noticed before.

A bandanna-clad, megaphone-bearing Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"AAAHHH! A spy! An enemy spy!"

Shiroyuki placed a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

Koshino took a step forward and held Sakuragi's jersey by the collar. "You had better not push it, you bastard!"

Sakuragi narrowed his eyes at the gesture. "Hmm? What's the meaning of this?"

"Even though this is a practice game, to us this is our first important game of the year. You've been a nuisance from the beginning. If you don't want to play then please leave!" Koshino said angrily.

"I don't want to play? I was getting impatient about not being able to play, but because I'm the secret weapon, I forced myself to tolerate this… and you say I don't want to play!" Sakuragi replied, his tone getting angrier and angrier as each word is uttered.

Hikoichi tried to intervene. "Sakuragi-sempai! Koshino-sempai! Please stop fighting!" he pleaded, only to be picked up by Sakuragi with one hand and thrown to the far end of the gym.

Taoka-sensei then tried to intervene himself, but was shouted at rudely by Sakuragi, which made things turn from bad to worse, until…

"Hahahahahaha!"

To everyone's surprise, Sendoh began to laugh to his hearts content.

Instantly, Sakuragi turned on him. "What are you laughing at Sendoh? Have you forgotten that I'm going to beat you, huh?" he demanded.

Sendoh stopped laughing and said, "Of course I still remember."

In the meantime, Shiroyuki took the opportunity to scrutinise the redhead's face, since he's standing right in front of Sendoh, and Shiroyuki himself was standing next to Sendoh. _He hasn't changed one bit after so many years… _

It wasn't long before the captain of the Shohoku basketball team, Akagi Takenori came over and knocked the redhead on the head, apologising to Sendoh and Taoka-sensei at the same time, while his team-mates worked together to drag the highly energetic boy back to their side of the bench.

Shiroyuki smiled to himself as he watched Sakuragi being tied to the chair and sprayed with cold water by the other team's manager.

_Still as hot-tempered and full of energy as ever, aren't you, Florus? _

Tbc...


End file.
